Kereopa te Rau
Encyclopedia
Kereopa Te Rau was a Māori Warrior. The name Kereopa is the Māori pronunciation of the Biblical name Cleopas
. He was also nicknamed Kai whatu, the eye ball eater. He was a leader of the Pai Marire
or Hau Hau messianic cult.
Kereopa was probably baptised by Father Euloge Regnier during the 1840s and may have served as a police officer in Auckland during the 1850s. He is known to have fought for the rebel King Movement during the Invasion of the Waikato
in 1863. His wife and two daughters were killed in the attack by government forces on Rangiaowhia near Te Awamutu
,when villagers fired at soldiers and his sister was killed in defence of the Hairini Line a few days later.
Shortly afterwards he met up with the prophet Te Ua Haumene and converted to the Pai Marire
faith. In December 1864 he was sent on a mission to the tribes of the East Cape
. His instructions were to go in peace and avoid confrontations with the Pākehā
. However at Opotiki
the missionary Carl Volkner
, who was sending intelligence about the activities of the rebels to the government, was seized, hanged and decapitated in what became known as the Volkner Incident
. Immediately afterwards Kereopa preached a sermon from Volkner's pulpit during which he gouged the missionary's eyes out of his head and ate them and drank his blood. Although this is abhorrent , it was normal Maori behaviour or utu in the context of Māori warfare but made Kereopa a murderer and a cannibal under New Zealand law.
Kereopa and his Pai Marire followers then abandoned the people of Opotiki and retreated to the Urewera Mountains
to preach their cult to the Tuhoe
people. Later he tried to return to the Waikato
but was repulsed by a war party of Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Rangitihi
loyal Maori, who supported the government. Following the resulting battle Kereopa is said to have eaten the eyes of three of the slain enemy. He then retreated to the Ureweras again where he found refuge and where he remained in hiding for the next five years.
In the early 1870s the government forces searching for Te Kooti
entered the Ureweras. The Tuhoe were conquered and law and order established. Major Roparta, Ropata Waha Wahawho lead the government forces, captured Kereopa. Keropa was tried and hanged for Volkner's murder on 5 January 1872.
Cleopas
Cleopas was a figure of early Christianity, one of the two disciples who encountered Jesus during the Road to Emmaus appearance in the Gospel of ....
. He was also nicknamed Kai whatu, the eye ball eater. He was a leader of the Pai Marire
Pai Marire
The Pai Mārire movement was a syncretic Māori religion that flourished in New Zealand from about 1863 to 1874. Founded in Taranaki by the prophet Te Ua Haumene, it incorporated Biblical and Māori spiritual elements and promised its followers deliverance from Pākehā domination, providing a...
or Hau Hau messianic cult.
Kereopa was probably baptised by Father Euloge Regnier during the 1840s and may have served as a police officer in Auckland during the 1850s. He is known to have fought for the rebel King Movement during the Invasion of the Waikato
Invasion of the Waikato
The Invasion of Waikato or Kingitanga Suppression Movement was a campaign during the middle stages of the New Zealand Wars, fought in the North Island of New Zealand from July 1863 to April 1864 between the military forces of the Colonial Government and a federation of Māori tribes known as the...
in 1863. His wife and two daughters were killed in the attack by government forces on Rangiaowhia near Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu
Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it...
,when villagers fired at soldiers and his sister was killed in defence of the Hairini Line a few days later.
Shortly afterwards he met up with the prophet Te Ua Haumene and converted to the Pai Marire
Pai Marire
The Pai Mārire movement was a syncretic Māori religion that flourished in New Zealand from about 1863 to 1874. Founded in Taranaki by the prophet Te Ua Haumene, it incorporated Biblical and Māori spiritual elements and promised its followers deliverance from Pākehā domination, providing a...
faith. In December 1864 he was sent on a mission to the tribes of the East Cape
East Cape
East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located to the north of Gisborne in the northeast of the North Island....
. His instructions were to go in peace and avoid confrontations with the Pākehā
Pakeha
Pākehā is a Māori language word for New Zealanders who are "of European descent". They are mostly descended from British and to a lesser extent Irish settlers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, although some Pākehā have Dutch, Scandinavian, German, Yugoslav or other ancestry...
. However at Opotiki
Opotiki
Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Population:* of the town: 4176 - Male 1,989, Female 2,187...
the missionary Carl Volkner
Carl Sylvius Völkner
Carl Sylvius Völkner was a German-born Protestant missionary in New Zealand.He was born in Kassel, Hesse, Germany, probably in 1819. Völkner was one of several missionaries sent to New Zealand by the North German Missionary Society. He arrived in New Zealand in August 1849. In 1852 he offered...
, who was sending intelligence about the activities of the rebels to the government, was seized, hanged and decapitated in what became known as the Volkner Incident
Volkner Incident
The Völkner Incident describes the murder of the missionary Carl Sylvius Völkner in New Zealand in 1865 and the consequent reaction of the Government of New Zealand in the midst of the New Zealand land wars.-Background:...
. Immediately afterwards Kereopa preached a sermon from Volkner's pulpit during which he gouged the missionary's eyes out of his head and ate them and drank his blood. Although this is abhorrent , it was normal Maori behaviour or utu in the context of Māori warfare but made Kereopa a murderer and a cannibal under New Zealand law.
Kereopa and his Pai Marire followers then abandoned the people of Opotiki and retreated to the Urewera Mountains
Te Urewera
Te Urewera is an area of the central North Island of New Zealand. Located in rough, sparsely populated hill country to the northeast of Lake Taupo, it is the historical home of Tuhoe, a Māori iwi known for their controversial stance on Māori sovereignty...
to preach their cult to the Tuhoe
Tuhoe
Ngāi Tūhoe , a Māori iwi of New Zealand, takes its name from an ancestral figure, Tūhoe-pōtiki. The word tūhoe literally means "steep" or "high noon" in the Māori language...
people. Later he tried to return to the Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
but was repulsed by a war party of Ngāti Manawa and Ngāti Rangitihi
Ngati Rangitihi
Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, located in the Bay of Plenty.Ngati Rangitihi is the senior tribe of Te Arawa. The 8 beating hearts of Te Arawa come under the umbrella of Rangitihi .-History:...
loyal Maori, who supported the government. Following the resulting battle Kereopa is said to have eaten the eyes of three of the slain enemy. He then retreated to the Ureweras again where he found refuge and where he remained in hiding for the next five years.
In the early 1870s the government forces searching for Te Kooti
Te Kooti
Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki was a Māori leader, the founder of the Ringatu religion and guerrilla.While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the Chatham Islands without trial along with captured Hauhau, he experienced visions and...
entered the Ureweras. The Tuhoe were conquered and law and order established. Major Roparta, Ropata Waha Wahawho lead the government forces, captured Kereopa. Keropa was tried and hanged for Volkner's murder on 5 January 1872.